County Commissioners to Vote on Parking Garage, Sidewalk Near High School

No clear consensus on either issue emerges from work session

Commissioners and county staff must decide if they want to hire a private company to build and operate a parking garage, whether they want to build a garage themselves or whether they want to simply build more parking lots someday to deal with a projected parking crunch.

Published: Friday, February 14, 2014 at 1:12 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, February 14, 2014 at 1:12 p.m.

BARTOW | County commissioners are scheduled to vote Tuesday on hiring a private company to build a parking garage near government buildings in Bartow and on how quickly to complete the rest of a proposed sidewalk system around Tenoroc High School.

Commissioners discussed both issues during today's agenda study session, but no consensus emerged on either.

Commissioners sent out a request for proposals on the parking garage last year. Although a Virginia company was ranked last summer by a county committee as the best firm to do the job, commissioners and county staff are still struggling. Their decisions include whether they want to hire a private company to build and operate the garage, whether they want to build a garage themselves or whether they want to simply build more parking lots someday to deal with a projected parking crunch.

The idea of building a parking garage is the latest proposal in a discussion commissioners have been having for several years.

The delay in dealing with the current proposal from Cambridge of Herndon, Va., involved whether it would require everyone who parks in public lots around the county courthouse and the county administration building to pay to park and what kind of public subsidy would be required to keep parking costs at reasonable levels.

That amount, which would range from $354,000 to $767,000 a year, is not budgeted, County Manager Jim Freeman told commissioners. He said it would require cuts somewhere else in the already strained general fund budget to pay for it.

Commission Chairman Todd Dantzler said it seems the county would be better off building the garage itself because it could do it more cheaply.

Freeman said he was looking for a decision Tuesday on whether to proceed with the contract or drop the idea.

“I don't want to bring this back; I want to move forward,'' he said.

The decision on whether or how to build a 1.2-mile sidewalk addition on Old Dixie Highway generated more discussion today, but no clear consensus on any issue except on whether to buy construction easements.

That would set a bad precedent because it would drive up the cost of sidewalk projects all over the county, commissioners agreed.

The project grew out of safety concerns following the death of a student last year who was hit while crossing the street on his way to school.

For some commissioners, it was an emotional issue.

“I'd hate to see another child at this school hit,” said Commissioner John Hall.

Nevertheless, the problem is that the overall estimated cost of the project is $3.9 million and the county's annual sidewalk budget is only $1.3 million.

That means the project would take years to complete unless additional funds are obtained.

Commissioner George Lindsey said part of the problem is that while all pedestrian deaths are tragic, they occur all over Polk County.

There have been 72 pedestrian fatalities in the past five years in Polk County, he said.

“This is not a problem of the county's making,” he said, explaining he's not willing to support spending the entire county sidewalk budget in a single year for just one project.

He said he has received tentative agreement with Polk County School Board members to contribute at least $250,000 a year toward building sidewalks around schools.

Lindsey said more than money is needed.

He said it's important to improve education on proper pedestrian behavior that stresses facing traffic, wearing light-colored clothes and not wearing headsets that make it hard to notice what's going on around them.

Dantzler said the commission needs a clear policy on prioritizing sidewalk projects, explaining there's more pedestrian traffic in other sections of the county that don't have sidewalks, either.

“We need a policy that's fair,'' he said.

Commissioner Ed Smith said the lack of sidewalks around the school is evidence of lack of planning by school officials.

But Freeman said it has been a long-standing school policy not to fund public improvements outside the school grounds, adding there has been litigation on this issue around that state and there are no clear guidelines on whose responsibility these projects should be.

“It the School Board is willing to contribute, that's a great step forward,'' he said.

[ Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. Read more views on the environment at http://environment.blogs.theledger.com and more views on county government at http://county.blogs.theledger.com/. Follow on Twitter @LedgerTom. ]

<p>BARTOW | County commissioners are scheduled to vote Tuesday on hiring a private company to build a parking garage near government buildings in Bartow and on how quickly to complete the rest of a proposed sidewalk system around Tenoroc High School.</p><p>Commissioners discussed both issues during today's agenda study session, but no consensus emerged on either.</p><p>Commissioners sent out a request for proposals on the parking garage last year. Although a Virginia company was ranked last summer by a county committee as the best firm to do the job, commissioners and county staff are still struggling. Their decisions include whether they want to hire a private company to build and operate the garage, whether they want to build a garage themselves or whether they want to simply build more parking lots someday to deal with a projected parking crunch.</p><p>The idea of building a parking garage is the latest proposal in a discussion commissioners have been having for several years.</p><p>The delay in dealing with the current proposal from Cambridge of Herndon, Va., involved whether it would require everyone who parks in public lots around the county courthouse and the county administration building to pay to park and what kind of public subsidy would be required to keep parking costs at reasonable levels.</p><p>That amount, which would range from $354,000 to $767,000 a year, is not budgeted, County Manager Jim Freeman told commissioners. He said it would require cuts somewhere else in the already strained general fund budget to pay for it.</p><p>Commission Chairman Todd Dantzler said it seems the county would be better off building the garage itself because it could do it more cheaply.</p><p>Freeman said he was looking for a decision Tuesday on whether to proceed with the contract or drop the idea.</p><p>“I don't want to bring this back; I want to move forward,'' he said. </p><p>The decision on whether or how to build a 1.2-mile sidewalk addition on Old Dixie Highway generated more discussion today, but no clear consensus on any issue except on whether to buy construction easements.</p><p>That would set a bad precedent because it would drive up the cost of sidewalk projects all over the county, commissioners agreed.</p><p>The project grew out of safety concerns following the death of a student last year who was hit while crossing the street on his way to school.</p><p>For some commissioners, it was an emotional issue.</p><p>“I'd hate to see another child at this school hit,” said Commissioner John Hall.</p><p>Nevertheless, the problem is that the overall estimated cost of the project is $3.9 million and the county's annual sidewalk budget is only $1.3 million.</p><p>That means the project would take years to complete unless additional funds are obtained.</p><p>Commissioner George Lindsey said part of the problem is that while all pedestrian deaths are tragic, they occur all over Polk County.</p><p>There have been 72 pedestrian fatalities in the past five years in Polk County, he said.</p><p>“This is not a problem of the county's making,” he said, explaining he's not willing to support spending the entire county sidewalk budget in a single year for just one project.</p><p>He said he has received tentative agreement with Polk County School Board members to contribute at least $250,000 a year toward building sidewalks around schools.</p><p>Lindsey said more than money is needed.</p><p>He said it's important to improve education on proper pedestrian behavior that stresses facing traffic, wearing light-colored clothes and not wearing headsets that make it hard to notice what's going on around them.</p><p>Dantzler said the commission needs a clear policy on prioritizing sidewalk projects, explaining there's more pedestrian traffic in other sections of the county that don't have sidewalks, either.</p><p>“We need a policy that's fair,'' he said.</p><p>Commissioner Ed Smith said the lack of sidewalks around the school is evidence of lack of planning by school officials.</p><p>But Freeman said it has been a long-standing school policy not to fund public improvements outside the school grounds, adding there has been litigation on this issue around that state and there are no clear guidelines on whose responsibility these projects should be.</p><p>“It the School Board is willing to contribute, that's a great step forward,'' he said.</p><p>[ Tom Palmer can be reached at tom.palmer@theledger.com or 863-802-7535. Read more views on the environment at http://environment.blogs.theledger.com and more views on county government at http://county.blogs.theledger.com/. Follow on Twitter @LedgerTom. ]</p>